50 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — ^PtJBUCATION NO. 1 2 



women."^ The sub-delegado uses a pair for 

 reading. 



PROTECTION: THE FACA DE BAINHA AND THE 

 GARRUCHA 



The faxa de hainha (sheath knife) is often car- 

 ried by men in the community. The blade varies 

 from about 6 to 12 inches in length, is ordinarily 

 around % of an inch wide, sharply pointed at the 

 end, and fitted into a wooden handle. It is not 

 worn at the belt, as sometimes is to be seen in cer- 

 tain other communities in the State of Sao Paulo 

 and other States of Brazil, where the prohibition 

 by the authorities of its use is more openly ignored. 

 It is carried instead in the coat pocket or under 

 the shirt at the belt. 



The primary purpose in carrying a sheath knife 

 is to have an effective weapon with which to de- 

 fend oneself on occasion. At a dance, sheath 

 knives were observed to be carried by at least 5 of 

 the 30 men present. "The dance will not be over 

 until a late hour," explained a villager, "and the 

 men have to go home on the open road." Two of 

 the knives were carried in the coat pocket, and the 

 other three under the shirt at the belt. 



The faca de hainha is more often used, however, 

 for any one of a number of other purposes : to cut 

 tobacco from a twisted roll and trim corn husks 

 to make cigai'ettes; to cut cipo to use in tying to- 

 gether the poles of a house, a fence, or other con- 

 struction; to skin animals killed in the hunt; to 

 make repairs on leather harness; to use when eat- 

 ing away from the house ; and similar purposes. 



The garrucha is an ancient firearm rarely to 

 be seen today in the stores of the cities. It is a 

 breech-loading, double-barreled pocket pistol 

 about 10 inches in length. The barrels are 

 around 5 inches long and of large caliber. The 

 number of gaxruchas in the community is much 

 less than that of sheath knives. They are used 

 principally by persons who live on farms and who 

 have occasion to travel at night to and from the 

 village or to and from a neighboring farm. In 

 most cases, they are carried by young men. When 

 a young man arrives in the village, he may give 

 his gamicha to the owner of the har or store to 

 keep until he is ready to go home, as a safeguard 

 against possible impulsive action when under the 

 stress of heightened emotion. This is sometimes 



"3 One pair had beon purchased witliout the assistance of an 

 oculist or optometrist. 



also done in the case of the sheath knife, especially 

 while playing cards. 



The carrying of these means of protection would 

 seem to be more extensive than the actual danger 

 to be encountered would warrant. The act is per- 

 haps a vestige of a generalized habit which for- 

 merly had much more reason for its existence, 

 since valentoes^ or "tough characters," were oc- 

 casionally to be met, especially on the road at 

 night, and there also was continual danger from 

 wild pigs, 07igas, and similar animals. The exten- 

 sive carrying of these means of protection today 

 probably is due also, in no small part, to the belief, 

 held intensely by many jjersons and at least to 

 some extent by all, in the existence and maleficent 

 action of mysterious forces. 



TOOLS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT 



The principal agricultural tool is the enxa/la, 

 or hoe. It is not only used by every farmer in 

 the community but is probably used on all farms 

 more than any other tool and, on a few of the 

 smaller farms, more than all other tools combined. 

 It is especially employed in planting and for cut- 

 ting grass and weeds out from around growing 

 plants. It may also be usex^l to mix mud for 

 pau a pique houses, and similar purposes. The 

 handle is usually a stick around 5 feet in length, 

 cut from a nearby patch of timber, and as straight 

 and smooth as possible to arrange. The blade is of 

 iron, usually about 8 inches wide and 6 inches 

 high, and rounded on the shoulders, although other 

 forms and sizes are to be seen. It is factory- 

 made and has been purchased at a store in the 

 village or neighboring town. 



The enxaddo is a similar tool which is also much 

 used, especially for turning over dirt somewhat 

 as is done with a spade, except that the principal 

 motion is a chopping motion ; it is also used for 

 digging holes or shallow furrows for planting. 

 The blade is narrower and longer than that of 

 the hoe and measures from 5 to 6 inches wide and 

 is about 91/2 inches long. The foice also is much 

 used, especially for cutting weeds and brush and 

 trimming trees. The blade is curved, about 14 

 inches long and terminates in a blunt edge nearly 

 4 inches wide. The poddosinho is a similar in- 

 strument, except that it is smaller, being about 11 

 inches long and 1% inches wide. It is used to 

 strip the leaves from stalks of cane and for similar 

 tasks. The cavadeira is used to open small holes 



